U.S. states saw their tax revenue drop by about $31 billion, or 6 percent, from March through August, compared to the same period a year earlier, as the pandemic triggered economic shutdowns across the country, according to data from 44 states compiled by the Urban Institute.
The scale of the drop appears smaller than expected, relative to the depth of the economic contraction, and comes after several states have reported that their revenue didn’t decline as much as anticipated despite business shutdowns and increased unemployment. In August, when much of the country was reopening, state revenue climbed about 1.1 percent from a year earlier, the Urban Institute found.
Sameer leads a team dedicated to continuous growth and delivering a portfolio of services to leading insurance companies around the world. Sameer brings to this role particular expertise in the insurance industry, operations excellence, data analytics, and digital transformation. Sameer is also a certified Six Sigma Black Belt.
Sameer has been in leadership roles of increasing responsibility at Genpact for 15 years and was instrumental in setting up the insurance business at Genpact. His holistic approach to serving clients, and his expert grasp of digital technologies and deep domain expertise, have helped him lead large, successful engagements over the years.
Prior to Genpact, Sameer worked for seven years in the insurance business at General Electric, earning a Master Black Belt designation and serving as an operations leader in GE’s insurance vertical focused on claims and underwriting operations.
Sameer earned dual masters’ degrees in management and economics from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Pilani, India.
Shelby is a reporter at Employee Benefit News. Send pitches to shelby.rosenberg@arizent.com.
Jack Reagan is a managing director at UHY Advisors and a member of the firm’s national management committee that oversees the national audit and assurance practice. He has over 30 years of experience serving state and local governments, local school districts, federal government entities, and not for profit organizations as both an auditor and consultant. He has served many of the largest state and local government entities throughout the country, including New York City, Boston, San Jose, Nashville and Washington, D.C., as well as the states of New York, Texas, New Jersey, Delaware and California and Fairfax County (Virginia), Loudoun County (Virginia) and Montgomery County (Maryland). Reagan has also successfully assisted numerous localities in obtaining and maintaining their GFOA and ASB Certificates of Excellence in Financial Reporting. He graduated from the University of Richmond with a BSBA in accounting.
The tax figures come as Republicans in Washington balk at extending aid to states and cities to help cover budget deficits that are expected to continue as the coronavirus weighs on the economy. Experts say that states’ financial outlooks could worsen as the effects of the stimulus bill fade and high unemployment reduces tax bills next year.
The August increase should be viewed with caution since income-tax deadlines were pushed back to July, which could have resulted in some revenue being processed later, according to Lucy Dadayan, senior research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Personal income-tax collections, which rose 3.8 percent in August, were in some cases supported by backlogged unemployment insurance benefits subject to withholding tax, Dadayan said.
Between March and August, tax revenues fell 6.4 percent year over year, with 36 states reporting declines over that period, the report said. Between March and August, eight states, including Washington and Georgia, reported growth in tax revenue.
“Due to the shifting in timing of tax receipts this past year, it is crucial to view August year-over-year revenue gains and fiscal year to date data with caution,” Dadayan said in the report.